Media 2070 FINAL - Flipbook - Page 58
XII. White Media Power
and the Trump Feeding Frenzy
FUELING THE RISE OF A TYRANT
Racism’s been good for business for too many big media
companies for far too long. This is why media reparations
are critical.
Large media companies have little incentive to advance
or achieve racial equity in their operations since it would
force them to dismantle the white-racial hierarchy that
exists in their own newsrooms. And they have little
interest in doing that. The same goes for lawmakers and
regulators whose policies have allowed this hierarchy
to exist in our media system. Reparations are needed to
reconcile and repair the history of harm and to materially
reshape the ongoing imbalance of power.
In 2016, CBS Chairman and CEO Les Moonves openly
rooted for Trump’s racist presidential campaign while
speaking at a Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and
Telecom conference in San Francisco — in remarks that
drew laughter from the audience.
“Who would have thought that this circus
would come to town?” said Moonves, who
departed CBS after being accused of sexual
misconduct.
58
“But, you know, it may not be good for
America, but it’s damn good for CBS. That’s
all I’ve got to say. So, what can I say? It’s —
you know, the money’s rolling in, and this
is ... This is — this is something. I’ve never
seen anything like this. And, you know, this
is going to be a very good year for us. But —
sorry, it’s a terrible thing to say, but bring it
on, Donald. Go ahead. Keep going.”1
In that statement, Moonves pulled back the veil to reveal
that many media conglomerates practice a predatory
form of capitalism that harms Black people and other
people of color. While this has been standard practice for
a long time, the Trump presidency has made it clear that
profit-driven journalism has a long history of failing to
serve everyday people, especially in the Black community.
Big media companies are profiting from Trump’s racism
while paying little-to-no attention to the impact of
Trump’s policies on the lives of Black people and other
marginalized groups.
WWW.MEDIA2070.ORG